TFP 4 TFRB: But You Don't Have to Take My Word for It
by Karra Greenfield
Summary: What happens when an experiment of Doc Greene's overloads and can Ratchet fix it? Also, what does the Autobot medic discover about the upgrade Vector Sigma gave to Elita-One? Crossover between TF Prime and TF RescueBots.
1. Chapter 1

**But You Don't Have to Take My Word for It**

_[Location: Autobot Base]_

Ratchet observed the readout his station was giving him on Elita-One's current location. He had detected an odd energy flux and the Autobot fem had been quick to volunteer to go, since it was a populated area. A small island off of the coast of Maine, the most northeastern state of the United States of America, called Griffin Rock.

"You should be near the coordinates," the medic stated over the comm-channel.

"_And luckily for us,"_ the custom trike replied, _"it's not that populated. Mostly a small costal fishing town, with a few hotels for the tourists. Other than that, most of the central part of the island is rather untouched."_

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine]_

Elita was admiring the view as she sat on her motorcycle form, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean while the sun began to set behind her. There was a cool breeze so she had removed her helmet and let her hair down. She even had a small video camera out, recording the view and atmosphere to show Ratchet later. The more time she had spent with the older bot, the more she found she had in common with him, and the closer he came to her heart. So she took every opportunity to share her human world with him, be it music, movies, pictures, and most recently home movies.

Despite his grumbling at first, Ratchet saying he 'saw' most of the landscape when he use to go out with the others to search for energon before the Decepticons renewed their attacks, he slowly began to appreciate what she was sharing with him. He might have seen what he was driving through, but he was self–blinded to the beauty of it.

"I wish you could be here, Ratchet," she spoke gently over the comm.

"_Maybe one of these days," _he replied as gently, _"when we can take a joy ride."_

Closing the side of the camera, Elita tucked it away on her bike form before revving up her engine to pull off more towards where energy flux was occurring at. Slowing down, she took in the large thinly wooded cliff as she had to carefully drive around the trees. As close as she came in some places to scraping a tree there was no room for her transformed state to go through. Pulling up to where there was a slight wave distortion in the air, like a circular rippling pool on its side.

"I found it," Elita said as she got off of her bike, scanning the area with her eyes before pulling out the scanning device that Ratchet had given her that linked her data with his computer system. "Is this coming through?"

"_Receiving the data, Elita,"_ her friend back at base replied. She heard the excitement and concern in his voice over the find. _"It's actually quite similar to our ground bridge."_

"What do ya think's causing it?" she asked as her arm relaxed to her side as she looked up at the disturbance.

_[Location: Autobot Base]_

"I'm not detecting any energon in its energy signature, so it's not of Cybertronian origin," Ratchet's fingers danced across his console as he focused up on the readout on the screen. Urgent beeping drew his attention to another part of the screen. "Elita, it just spiked! Get away-"

He was cut off from her shout of urgency, the sound of her robotic form transforming, and a sudden rush of static over the comm-channel. "Elita. Elita-One!" On his screen, he watched as the odd energy spiked and simply vanished. "Elita, come in."

Firming, the medic opened up another communication. "Arcee, I'm sending a ground bridge to pick you and Bumblebee up. Something's happened to Elita."

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine]_

When the disturbance violently bubbled out at her, Elita raised her arms to shield her face as she gave a shout of alarm. As she felt it begin to wrap around her she also felt her larger hands grabbing a hold of her before both bodies were yanked violently forward. Her larger form tucked her closer to itself, unable to open the torso to place her in it, and curled up in as much of a ball as it could form.

It was the sound of metal scraping metal as she bounced twice before spinning in a skidding halt. The abuse hurt and uncurling, or even moving, didn't seem appealing at the time. Stretching out her senses, she tried to get a feel of what happened.

There were worried voices, one male and one a young female along the sound of a rush of air, at least what she could hear past the ringing in her ears, and the smell of smoke. Elita focused to see what her larger form could. No longer was she in the woods, or even outside. She somehow ended up in some laboratory. It was a very dangerous situation for her to be in, especially when the young human female came running up to her. The girl crouched down to look at Elita and yelled something at the older man with her.

Doctor Greene nodded with a smile as the last of the flames that had leapt to life in his latest experiment were extinguished. Apparently trying to make a window that followed the Multi-verse theory wasn't as 'well-woven' as he had thought. He was saying as much when Frankie ran off to look at what had flown through the window he had created.

"Hey Dad!" Doc Greene heard his daughter call to him, "it looks like the robot is holding a human. And I think she's injured."

Carrying over the fire extinguisher, the head scientist for Griffin Rock stood beside his daughter to look down at the two still curled up in the floor. "I do believe it would be most prudent to call Chief Burns." As Frankie ran off to make the call, Doc Greene knelt down beside the bot's head, gently patting it. "You did well, my friend. Your human companion will be safe."

_Well this is a pickle,_ Elita thought to herself.

Author's Note: This was written for my daughter since she enjoys both shows and likes being read to, especially while I'm trying to write around her head. If you haven't watched Rescue Bots because you think it's too 'kiddy', you might want to consider watching it. There are a lot of jokes in it for older watchers who are 'forced' to watch it that make it worth watching.

**I do not own Transformers Prime or Transformers RescueBots. **


	2. Chapter 2

_[Location: Autobot Base] Prime Universe_

Arcee and Bumblebee stood by as they watched Ratchet pour over the data that they had just brought back from scouting the area Elita had disappeared, all the while agreeing silently with the medic on how she seemed to be the unluckiest being in the universe at time. Whatever was causing the energy flux, and apparently made their newest member disappear, had vanished without a trace. The only proof they had that anything was there was the gouges from Elita's larger form as she had struggled to keep her footing.

Both bots watched as the usually cranky medic was even more agitated as he read over the data scrolling across his screen. The idea that they lost one of their own didn't settle well with Arcee or Bumblebee either. Beeping , Bee's body language further conveyed his concern as he spoke to Ratchet.

"No, Bumblebee," the older bot all but growled, "I'm no closer to figuring out what took her."

"Is there anything else that we can do?" the blue fem-bot asked, shifting from one foot to the other almost constantly. The idea of mourning another friend did not appeal to her in the least.

Ratchet sighed, his head and shoulders dropping, "Until I can figure out the frequency there's nothing any of us can do."

_[Location: Griffin Rock] Rescue Bots Universe_

At Frankie's call, Cody Burns, his father Police Chief Charlie Burns, and Chase, the Police car Rescue Bot that partnered up with the Chief, pulled up to the front of Doc Greene's laboratory shortly after sunset. Chase waited calmly as his human passengers exited and went into the building. Shortly pulling up behind the trio came Kade Burns and his Rescue Bot partner, the fire truck Heatwave. They were there because Frankie had mentioned a fire, and Chief Burns decided it was better safe than sorry.

Heatwave waited beside Chase, giving a disgruntled sigh, "I think that the Doc here needs adult supervision when he works on his projects."

"I do believe that the Doctor does fall under the category of being adult supervision," Chase replied, not quite getting the joke.

Inside the building, Francine Greene ran up to them. "Cody! Chief Burns! You have got to come see this! It looks like your Rescue Robots!" As she grabbed a hold of Cody's arm to drag him off, Chief Burns and his oldest son shared a worried look before rushing to follow them.

Doc Greene was still kneeling down beside the head of the curled up red and grey bot, talking soothingly to it as he gently patted the side of its head, just under one of the decorative bumps on its helmet. Chief Burns knelt down next to the doctor, looking at the human it was holding tightly to itself.

"It seems to understand that I mean it no harm," the good doctor said excitedly, "and the range of emotion its has shown in its eyes alone make me wonder just exactly how much we could possibly upgrade your Rescue Bots to perhaps think on their own."

Clearing his throat a bit, the Chief quickly intercepted his friend's train of thought. "Just exactly how did they end up here?"

"Ah! Yes!" Doc Greene looked back down at the pair as the woman groaned in pain, "I was working on a window to let us see into alternate realities that possibly neighbor our own. As the picture began to clear up, the lady that this robot is holding coming into view, when the machine began to overload. It apparently brought the woman through, and with her her motorcycle."

"Motorcycle?" Kade asked, wondering exactly how small these bots could get.

"Kade," his father looked up at the firefighter with a raised eyebrow, "How about you and the good Doctor go double check to make sure that there isn't another risk of a fire starting?"

Knowing that his father was needing the distraction, Kade managed to get Doc Greene talking about the machine he had made as they walked over to inspect it. Checking to make sure that Cody was keeping Frankie occupied, the Chief leaned closer to the bot's head and spoke quietly.

"You are among friends and those who know what you really are. We're going to get you repaired and make sure your human is going to be alright." When the bot's blue eyes opened and focused up at him, he smiled warmly.

Elita had to blink to get her vision to clear, looking up at the grayed haired man that was next to her now. How could this human know what she was? Well, it was worth a shot if he was telling the truth. With a pained groan she lifted her head back, letting her Autobot symbol on her throat shine. The move made her roll a bit more onto her back and her arms loosen on her smaller form.

Chief Burns' eyes focused on the symbol and he nodded knowingly at the bot, "There are more of you here. You're safe."

At that the robot finally released the human from its hold and the Chief had to rush to catch her as she fell free. At first he noted that the woman didn't exactly look 'right', especially the bit of glowing blue that was coming from the corner of her mouth, but if she was from an alternate reality then there was a chance that she looked absolutely normal where she came from. As he propped her up on one of his legs, supporting her head with an arm, he used his other hand to call the base.

"Dani," he said looking back at the bot, "I need you and Blades to meet me at Doc Greene's laboratory, and bring the platform."

_[Location: Jasper, Nevada] Prime Universe_

Miko, Jack, and Rafael were discussing the matter of the day as they ate their lunch. Fortunately they were able to secure a table of their own. Looking down at his tray, Jack more pushed the food the school had given that day around with is fork. It looked even less appealing when there were issues at the base.

Rafael was looking at his laptop, his self-packed lunch also sat untouched, as he focused on a copy of the data that Ratchet had given him. The Autobot scientist/medic had sent a copy of the data with Bumblebee when the scout left for the night to watch Rafael. The young prodigy was as stumped as the older bot about what could have possibly happened.

Miko was tapping out a rhythm on her lunch tray with her fork with one hand while she rested her head on her other with the elbow on the table. "Really! She needs to stop doing solo-missions."

"Maybe," Raf looked up at the black and purple-haired girl, "it's something similar to the Shadow Zone."

That made both of his friends jump up as if they got stuck in the rump with a needle. "You mean that E could be trapped with a nasty Zombie 'con?" Miko sat back a bit, looking around to see if anybody heard her since she got so excited.

"Not exactly," the younger teenager said as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose, "but there are several scientists out there that are trying to prove 'M-theory'."

"'M-theory'?'" Miko asked while a puzzled look crossed her face, "A whole theory on just one letter?"

"It's short for 'Multiverse Theory'," Jack added, gaining a smile from Rafael and a rather shocked look from Miko in the process. Feeling a bit uncomfortable he only gave a helpless shrug. "I looked it up after the Shadow-verse incident."

Rafael nodded, looking back at Miko as he began to explain the how and why of what some of the scientists were doing to probe the idea in as simple of terms as he could think of. But in the end, poor Miko was still as confused as ever. Even so, the bell rang before the boys could confuse her further and the students in the lunch room began to file out to get to class. Rafael made sure to save what he was working on before placing his laptop into his backpack. A few more hours and he'd be able to share with Ratchet what he had thought of.

**Author's Note: I do not own Transformers Prime or Transformers Rescue Bots.**


	3. Chapter 3

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine, Emergency Headquarters] Rescue Bots Universe_

The Burn's family looked down at the woman currently resting on one of the medical beds they had kept as a spare for emergencies. They had placed it next to the stasis chamber that Heatwave normally used for his repairs, where the motorcycle Cybertronian was being repaired, because the human actually rested better the closer she was kept to the bot she was pulled through with.

"I wonder who they are," Dani said as she finished cleaning up the glowing blue that came from her cuts.

"They appear to be of Cybertronian origin," Chase, the police car, said as he was leaning over the humans they worked with.

"They?" Cody asked, looking up at the blue and white bot.

"How is that even possible?" Blades asked, looking down at the human with a newer interest.

"It isn't," Heatwave stated gruffly, crossing his arms, "There is no possible way for a Cybertronian to be that small, or have an organic based transformation."

"She is from an alternate reality," Graham reminded them, "maybe where she comes from they're more advanced in their technology."

"Oh!" Bolder, the bulldozer, said with an awestruck tone to his voice, "just think of the possibilities of there actually being other realities where Cybertronians exist."

"Great," Kade grumbled as he crossed his arms, looking much like his partner, "as if we need more bots here."

Before anyone really reacted to his negative comment, they all focused on both the human and bot as they began to stir, moving in the exact same manner as they woke-up. But when the woman sat up the bot in the stasis chamber bent forward, cracking its head on the clear door. The woman cried out in pain, holding her head with one hand as she braced herself with the other.

She groaned, "Do you mind letting me out of the chamber?"

Everyone looked around at each other, but when the humans focused up at the bots with them, all the Autobot Rescue team could do was shrug helplessly. Chief Burns turned back to the woman on the table, "Madam, you are not in a chamber."

When she opened her eyes and focused on him Chief Burns blinked in surprise, and he wasn't the only one. Her irises were glowing and the same shade of blue as the Autobots present. They were all silent as the woman looked them over and eventually focusing on Heatwave.

"Please open the chamber," she requested directly to him.

There was something off about this woman, but at least she was asking him nicely. If only he could get Kade to show half of the respect this woman was. Walking calmly over to his chamber, the fire truck input his code to open the door. As soon as it was opened, the red and gray bot stepped out, thanking him in a similar voice as the woman on the table had. But most disturbing was the lack of color to the fem-bot's eyes.

The new Cybertronian carefully made its way over to the woman and, despite Dani's insisting against the action, the woman got off of the table, finishing the distance to the bot. Everyone watched as the bot knelt down to the woman as she reached up and patted its closest arm.

Elita could feel that her larger form was completely repaired; now it was just her smaller one that needed the attention. Patting the arm near her, she could only smile. Giving the empathic signal to transform, she backed away as her larger bot body shifted into its trike motorcycle form and faced the group. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Elita-One."

"And the bot's name?" Heatwave asked a bit pointedly as he stood beside his Cybertronian companions, his arms crossed over his torso.

Looking up at the larger bot, Elita only smiled at his defensive posture, "I am the bot."

That made the fire truck uncross his arms as he urgently looked at the others bots in the room, silently asking if it was even possible. The humans were all looking up at them as well, vocalizing the same thing. As they began to quiet down, Elita began to speak again.

"Some food and about four pots of coffee," she said a bit sheepishly with a blush, "and I'll explain it all."

_[Location: Autobot Base] Prime Universe_

Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Ratchet looked down at Rafael as he stood on the walkway that ran around the Autobot's computer stations. He had just finished explaining the Multi-verse theory to them, and naturally, Ratchet was intrigued as the medic made his way back to his normal work station. What the young human had told him made sense, given the odd energy and what Elita had reported before disappearing.

The older bot had to close his eyes, willing the frustration and worry that had been boiling for the past couple days to ebb away. He needed to focus and this wasn't helping his processor. There was no telling where Elita-One had disappeared to. Or even if she was with friendlies. Naturally, she had her human body, which would help her blend in to any Earth she might have gone to, but there was the issue of energon for her body to function.

Ratchet then recalled something from his scans. It seemed that her intake of food into her humanoid body was actually metabolizing into energy that both bodies were able to use. He had never considered it before! Could her human body actually be making energon? That was something he'd have to test out when she got back. However they'll have to find her first.

"Excellent thinking, Rafael," Optimus looked from Ratchet, who was now mumbling to himself as he worked, to Rafael and gave the human a nod, "that may very well be the piece of the puzzle we have been lacking."

The prodigy blushed as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose, "I'm just glad I'm able to help with something."

"Do not doubt your worth to the team, Rafael," the Autobot leader reminded him gently with Bumblebee giving a hearty, excited agreement, "it takes time to find where one fits best in a team, and sometimes longer for the team to accept what fits best for each other."

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine, Emergency Headquarters] Rescue Bots Universe_

Even leaving out some of the more gruesome details, Elita managed to take longer than she wanted in explaining what had happened to her. Mostly due to being interrupted a few times, twice with an emergency, apparently a Mr. Pedy Paws was stuck in a tree, and once with Kade wanting to leave to see his girlfriend. The Autobot fem could see the frustration from his fire truck partner about the whole dating thing.

Unable to leave to help the older Burns family with their emergency runs, E stayed behind to keep Cody company and to clean-up the building as a sort of payment for the food they graciously gave her. She had taken a part time job in the emergency dispatch in the small town she had lived in with her mother, fixing their computers. Adjacent to the building was the fire and EMT station. When she had the spare time she would go over and give the place a scrub down, since most of the time the men working there were either busy doing their jobs or worn out from the same. In return, they gave her food to take home when they'd cook, which was nearly every day.

The youngest Burns reminded her of Miko, except not as rebellious, yet. He was still young and not yet in the teen years to veer into all those crazy ways. He still asked a ton of questions and she could see his mind putting the pieces of it all together like it was all one big puzzle. Good gracious, if his family wasn't careful they were going to have a hacker on their hands. Maybe that's where the bots would really come in handy, easily giving him something to focus all that thinking and energy on as the years passed.

The boy was able to explain the ruse going on with the Rescue Autobots and the island town they all lived in, how they were able to use their full range of transformations, but everyone except the family thought that they were just robots. So she still needed to keep her cover, which was no big deal, but apparently around Doc Greene and his daughter Frankie her larger body couldn't work on its own. That was fine with her. She just needed to be inside of it for a few hours here and there, and while she was trapped at the base, it would be fine.

Chances were that she wouldn't need to leave the base until Doc Greene fixed his machine. But the next thought made her stop in the middle of mopping the kitchen floor. Even if the scientist got the machine fixed, there was no guarantee that he'd be able to find where she was pulled from. The knot that started to form in her stomach almost made her sick. The very idea of not going home, again, and losing everything, again, settled heavily.

But she knew that Ratchet and Rafael and the others were doing what they could over on their side of this crazy reality mess. Elita would find comfort in that, use it to keep the tears away. Taking a deep breath she went back to the cleaning.

Elsewhere in town… the topic of discussion that day was the most recent bot in their midst.

"Do you believe she's telling the truth?" Dani asked as she and Blades flew over the small island town.

"I have to admit," Blades replied, his face on the screen, "it does seem rather odd."

Down on the ground Graham and Boulder were double checking one of the structures for a new building while the construction crew were on their lunch break. "There is a phrase we humans use," the brainy Burns answered as Boulder was holding him up in his hand, "'_Truth is stranger than fiction_.'"

"What does that mean?" Boulder asked quietly, but the others still heard him over their radios.

"It means that some things really happen, and despite how farfetched as it seems it can't be anything other than true."

"But is it even possible for a human mind to end up in a computer?" Kade asked, sitting in Heatwave's cab, enjoying his hamburger combo while his partner groaned under his breath about his human partner's habit of leaving food bags under the seat. "And what about that Vector Signature thing?"

"Vector Sigma," Heatwave growled out slowly.

"Yeah yeah," Kade replied before shoving a group of fries into his mouth.

"The only thing she hasn't been truthful about," Chief Burns said as he and his partner Chase made their way down the road at a gentle clip, "is the exact events that lead up to her ending up in the robotic body. I believe she omitted some details for Cody's sake."

"I believe it would take something extreme," Chase added to the conversation, "to indeed cause such a transfer. And Vector Sigma is what Primus uses to empower those he deems worthy of having the title Prime. Little is known of its function beyond that."

That made Heatwave think quietly for the time being. If she was originally working with Optimus Prime and his crew, maybe he should get a hold of the Prime and send her over for him to deal with. But then again, Doc Greene pulled her through and she'll have to remain close in case he managed to get the device working again and send her home.

As if he really needed somebody else to watch out for.

**Author's Note: I do not own Transformers Prime or Transformers Rescue Bots.**

Real life issues have come up, even more so than just the kiddo, so there will be quite a bit of lag in postings. I already had these three chapters written up before hand so I decided to get them posted. Thank you all in advance for your understanding.

Major Kudos to those of you who caught the title reference! ^_^ I literally grew up with the show and it helped with my love of books, so Mr. Burton voicing a character in the show made me smile.


	4. Chapter 4

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine, Emergency Headquarters] Rescue Bots Universe_

Done with the majority of their duties for the day, the adults of the Burns family made their way home with their Rescue Bot partners. Once safely behind the closed doors of their base, the bots transformed as soon as their occupants had exited. Much to their mutual surprise, Elita, her larger form, was dancing while she was sweeping the floor of the garage, as if she was listening to music while doing the task. There was also the smell of something delicious coming from the kitchen, beckoning the humans towards its direction, Chief Burns privately pleased with the fact that he didn't have to worry about making dinner.

Cody was running to greet them all, obviously excited about something, "Dad, you have got to come see this." As the Chief followed his youngest child, his three oldest were still watching the dancing bot, along with their rescue partners.

"What is she doing?" Blades asked to no one in particular.

"It appears that she is dancing as she's cleaning," Boulder answered, "Fascinating!"

Kade scoffed, "About time we have a freeloader that does something other than live here." That earned him a hard elbow from Dani, since she was standing next to her brother. Rubbing his side, the red haired Burns only grumbled that he was only joking.

The others only watched as Elita had stopped dancing, placing the broom back where she had found it, walked over to a rather empty, out of the way corner, before transforming into her motorcycle form. Heatwave could tell when he first saw her that her eyes were dim, meaning that the 'brain' of the pair was not inside of the form.

"Let's get cleaned up," the fire truck ordered his subordinates, the four of them heading to the bunker below while their human counter parts headed upstairs. The four Rescue Bots were surprised to find that the bunker they stayed in had been cleaned as well. Elita seemed to have kept herself busy while they all were out doing their job. There was also a daily ration of energon set out for all four of them, as if waiting for their return to refuel. It rather surprised Heatwave as he admitted to himself that she seemed to be handy to keep around.

Upstairs, the three oldest Burns children were halted suddenly as they took in the extremely clean living quarters while the delicious smell that had drawn them closer surrounded them. Chief Burns and Cody had stopped as well, the majority of the family staring in shock as the human woman was dancing around in the same manner as her robot below had been. She was wearing a pair of headphones, which would explain why she had not heard them come into the room, as she was setting the table as she jammed.

While Dani and Graham were still in their shock, Kade chuckled a bit. "Maybe we should keep her around. Who knows," he gently nudged his father with his elbow, "she might make a good step-mom."

Clearing his throat, Charlie Burns gave his eldest son a look that told the younger man that he didn't appreciate the comment. He was surprised when Graham added, "It is nice to come home to dinner being done."

"That may be so, but she is a guest," their father reminded them, "and we _do_ need to try to get her back to her own reality. It wouldn't be fair to those she left behind to keep her here."

"What happens if we can't get her home?" Dani asked as she looked at her father. Deep down she still missed her mother, despite the years it had been since she passed, and she liked the idea of having another woman around to help even out the testosterone.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he replied to his daughter gently, "but it would be completely unfair to Elita if we planned her life for her."

It was then that Elita had pulled her headphones down from over her ears, "Oh! Hey, you're earlier than I expected." She had just pulled dinner from the oven and set it on the table when she noticed the family standing there, "Figured ya'll'd be hungry when you came home so I wanted to make sure dinner was ready."

"We appreciate your courtesy," Chief Burns said for his family as they began to surround the table, "though I never expected you to go out of your way to do all of this while you were here."

Elita waved it off as she sat in the chair he pulled out for her, "It's the least I can do while I'm stuck here."

As they ate, Cody filled his family in on what all had happened while they were away, expressing how much he appreciated Elita helping him with his homework. They settled into the dinnertime conversation and it gave Chief Burns a moment to think about what his kids all said about the situation. Although the idea was appealing, it wasn't the time to be focusing on that sort of situation just yet.

Later that night, after his children were all in their beds, Chief Charlie Burns carried two cups of coffee up to the roof of the building. Elita was sitting on the bench of her bike as she overlooked the town, having used the lift platform that Blades normally used to gain access to the roof. Noticing how pensive and preoccupied she looked, the elder Burns cleared his throat slightly to let her know that he was near her. The last thing he wanted was to startle her and end up getting hot coffee spilt on himself.

E looked over her shoulder, smiling a bit as she sat up more, "Chief Burns, I figured you'd be asleep with the others." She motioned for him to sit on the other side of the bench seat after taking the cup of coffee he offered her. Smiling with delight as she took in a deep whiff of the brew, she let him get settled before taking a sip. "Quite a town you've got here. Reminds me a bit of where I grew up."

"Small town girl?" Chief Burns asked after a sip of his own drink.

"For most of my life," she admitted with a smile, tilting her head up to look at the stars. There were still quite a bit in the sky, but not as many as she would see when looking out from above the Autobot base.

Her friend took a moment to look up at the sky as well as the quiet of the night settled in again before he spoke. "So, what's the whole story?"

Elita looked over at the police officer for a moment before taking a long drink from her mug. "Things were rough after my father died when I was seven, and I saw how hard my mom was working just to put food on the table and keep me in school. When I was old enough I took what jobs I could to help ease her burden; I ended up learning all sorts of things from fixing small engines to computer repair and coding. Joined the military to help pay for my higher education and ended up getting mixed up in a project that fast tracked me into a nightmare and ended up with a great group of friends."

Chief Burns nodded as he took another drink of coffee, "Very well scripted, but not completely honest."

Eyeing him sidelong, Elita tipped the rest of her drink into her mouth. "Scripted? Yes. Honest? As much as I can be and still keep things safe."

"With who we work with, do you really think we'd have trouble keeping your secret?" He looked over at her, looking her in the eyes to gauge her reaction, noticing that sheshe seemed sincere.

"It's not really my secret that I'm worried about, but your own protection." Setting the cup between them, Elita rested her hands firmly on the seat edge as she straightened her arms, making her shoulders slump up near her head. "If you have all of the same forces in play here, then my secret could put your family in danger. If _they_ are here, then Optimus will update you on the threat. If they aren't here, then my telling you would make you worry about something that might never come to pass."

"Alright, a simpler question then," he smiled as he rested his own empty mug next to hers, "anyone special back at home?"

Dipping her head down, the hybrid woman gave an embarrassed laugh. Recovering with a deep breath she looked back up at the sky, "I'm not even sure it would work out. It's still my human mind in an odd form so the concept of falling in love and marriage works easily. I enjoy his company and I'm sure he enjoys mine, but I'm not sure how something like that would really work out."

_[Location: Autobot Base] Prime Universe_

With the weekend allowing the kids the freedom to stay at the base without question, the whole of the group had done their best to stick to their normal routine as the last couple of the days left in the week passed. Fortunately, the Decepticons had been relatively quiet during this time, so they were able to focus a majority of their time into figuring out how to reopen the energy vortex that took their friend. All of them were bothered by the fact that one of their own was missing, but it seemed that the medic took it a bit harder than the rest. Even Optimus was having trouble with Ratchet's shorter temper. Ratchet had only recharged when his body forced him to, and even then, he tried constantly to push past it.

Early Saturday morning, while Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and the kids were watching cartoons and Arcee was practicing her martial arts, Optimus and Ratchet were looking over the information as it scrolled across the medic's screen. There had been a few spikes of the odd energy signature that were tied to Elita-One's disappearance, but it was never strong enough, nor lasted long enough, for the bots to react in time. The idea of stationing one of their own to the area was quickly dismissed, mostly due to the isolated area and the higher chance of being discovered.

Ratchet, who had taken to mumbling mostly to himself even more as Optimus stood by his side, was double checking his data on the times that the energy signature appeared, finding that it was becoming more frequent. With any luck, he'd be able to predict an approximate time that one of the next ones would appear.

"When was the last time you rested, Ratchet?" his dear friend asked, concern threaded through his words.

"I'll rest when I find her," was the unintentionally harsh reply, "What we need to focus on is who is going to go retrieve her." Turning to face his commander, the medic squared his shoulders, "I volunteer for the job."

"As well placed your spark is, Ratchet, it is unwise for you to go in your current state," Optimus replied calmly, despite the cold look he received from his friend, "and we are unsure of exactly what we might find on the other side of the event-horizon."

Looking a bit dejected, Ratchet turned back to his station, numbly running his hands over the controls. Optimus was right. He was in no real condition to rush into any sort of mission as he was. The medic turned his head when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, Optimus nodding a bit as he focused on him.

"I will; however, allow you to proceed with the mission under one condition."

"What is that?" Ratchet asked as he fully turned to face his friend.

"Go get you some rest, old friend" his commander ordered, "You have your system automatically scanning for the anomaly and it will allow you to look at it all with fresher optics."

Conceding to the terms, Ratchet nodded before walking away into the rest of the base. Optimus only stood by, watching as his friend disappeared into the hallway. As he turned to return to the station where he was working at decoding the Iacon records, Prime was not surprised to find Jack already standing near his workstation.

"Optimus, is Ratchet going to be ok?" the young man asked as the Autobot began working at the station, "I mean, I haven't known him as long as you have, but Ratchet doesn't seem to be… acting like himself."

Optimus paused to face Jack, leaning down to be eye level with the young man, "Ratchet is having to deal with an emotional loss that, all be it not new to him, opens older wounds."

"You mean," Miko said quietly as she and the others had moved over to listen in the conversation, "that Ratchet is in love with Elita? Who would have ever thought that was even possible?"

"We are not that completely different than you humans are with our emotions," Arcee stated as she crossed her arms, standing on the other side of Optimus who had straightened upright as the others joined them.

"That's not what I mean!" Miko scoffed, waving her hand, "I mean the fact that Ratchet actually found somebody to not be cranky with all the time."

Bumblebee beeped a few times, Rafael smiling up at his guardian, "Bee's right. They do spend the most time together here at the base."

"And besides a few gripes at the beginning of her stay here," Bulkhead added with a nod, "I don't think I've ever heard Ratchet grumble about her; especially after she found out about her mom."

"I've caught them watching movies or listening to music together," Arcee interjected, "late at night when one or the other was on monitor duty."

"This does explain why he's taking this so much harder than the rest of us," Jack said, all the pieces falling into place. "I wonder how Elita feels on the matter."

"That is something for both of them to come to terms with," Optimus stated gently, "in their own time." He gave a subtle glance at Miko, but none of the others had caught it.

**Author's Note: I do not own Transformers Prime or Transformers Rescue Bots.**

**Thanks for waiting. Between Little Girl's 3rd birthday, family visits, and trying to think of where I was wanting this to go, it's been a bit hectic. **

**Thank s everyone for taking the time to read my work.**


	5. Chapter 5

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine] Rescuebots Universe_

With the weekend being a bright and sunny one, she was hard pressed not to go out and enjoy it. With permission from both Chief Burns and Heatwave, Elita-One happily played the tourist, under her human first name with the cover story that she was a family friend of the town heroes, and with the Burns family out and about on the island for their usual patrols they were able to keep an eye on her easily.

Elita had spent her days doing mass cooking for the family, preparing several meals that were just happily waiting in the large freezer to be heated up at the family's convenience later on, and her nights quiet and reserve as she either looked out at the view from the roof top or had her nose buried in a book. The first morning she had to apologize for startling Kade, having spent the night sleeping in her bike form. She was so use to all three modes of her life now that she didn't think when she revved herself up and 'stretched' by doing doughnuts around the firefighter. It at least got a good laugh from Heatwave.

Before she had set out, the family that was sheltering her was kind enough to fill her in on all the good places to visit, and she was enjoying herself. Not only was she recording her trip with her video camera to share when she got back home, keeping the depressing thought of possibly not returning away when it would wash up, but had wired the camera into some of her sensors in her vehicular mode so it would record while she was driving. Naturally she could use her hands with the recording while she was rolling around, but not only would that get her in trouble with Chase, it would also raise suspicions.

While the little island she had vanished from back in her own reality was a simple fisherman's town, this one was a bustling on the cutting edge of human developed scientific breakthroughs, which was how she ended up in this mess in the first place. Chief Burns had filled her in on the good Doctor Greene and his daughter. If anyone understood an eccentric scientific mind, it was Elita. She had always been a bit odd when working on her personal ideas and computer coding.

Elita was taking a break from driving around on the same ocean overlook that she had paused at at the other Griffin Rock, recording the view. It was so different and yet held a similar appeal even with the homes below. Shutting off the camera with a sigh, E tucked it away as she swallowed the lump in her throat, "I wish you were here."

Revving the engine, she slowly pulled further up the road to the laboratory home that Doc Greene resided in. Despite her cover as a tourist, she was eager to hear how his work on returning her home was going. It was almost a week since her arrival and she was beginning to feel like a fish after its third day.

Slowing herself at the front of the house Elita pulled off her helmet, letting her red hair spill down her shoulders with a shake. Mentally she popped the right 'shoulder' compartment open to deposit the helmet there before she walked up to the door and rang the bell. She waited only a few moments, she was surprised that the door was being answered by a hovering 'butler' of some sort. Blinking a couple times, she gave one of her best smiles, "Hiya! I'm here to see Doctor Greene. Is he in?"

The machine just hovered there, it's monitor 'face' blank, save the reflection of her own, as she waited for it to answer her. When it suddenly turned away from her, she was a bit worried until a robotic voice from the device said, "Follow me, please."

As Elita stepped through the door she gave a soft sigh, "I hate talking to machines." Following the device into the laboratory, she was warmly greeted by Cody and Frankie as the pair ran over to her. "Hey you two."

"Hey, Ellan," Cody was smiling brightly, "What brings you by?"

Unable to help but return the warm smile, E gave a chuckle, "I'm just here to check the progress of my way home."

Doc Greene was walking closer, cleaning his hands on a rag, "Ah! Ellan! How wonderful it is to see you! I hope you are feeling better."

"I am, thank you," she nodded back at the man, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how is it going?"

The man turned halfway to look back at the machine. "I did save the coordinates that I used to pierce the veil between our worlds, but I have yet to gain a successful lock." Elita's shoulders slumped at that bit of news. "Fortunately, I feel like I have been getting closer to gaining a full connection between the two." That perked her mood up.

"Anything I can do to help?" she offered, trying not to sound really pushy.

"Actually, I…" and Doc Greene just stopped, staring behind Elita.

Puzzled, she turned around to find herself looking at a rather lovely woman, her long silver hair pulled back. Elita was rather stunned herself. "Dr. Leah Brahms?"

The woman stopped, blinking in a bit of confusion as she adjusted her glasses up on her face, "Excuse me?"

Elita blushed darkly, "Sorry. You… look like someone I use to know."

Doc Greene stepped around the Autobot, smiling warmly, "Forgive me, ladies. Ellan, I'd like you to meet Professor Anna Baranova. Anna, this is Ellan Greer."

"Professor," Elita said, extending her hand with a nod to shake the other woman's.

Professor Baranova's face lit up as she recalled the name, "You're our visitor Doctor Greene has been telling me about." Adjusting her glasses again, the professor stepped closer to study the strange woman before her. "Amazing!"

"Has he now?" the Autobot locked her blue eyes on the man, who gently cleared his throat as the other woman had circled around the Cybertronian, mumbling thoughtfully.

"He had filled me in as he asked for my assistance on returning you home," the professor offered with a sheepish smile at her colleague.

Elita noted the looks they gave each other and had to smile herself, "If he trusts you with it, then I am comfortable to do so as well."

"Excellent!" Doc Greene said, clapping his hands together. "We've managed to make some progress, if you would follow me, please ladies?" He motioned to the device and let the women walk past him before following with the kids following.

As she walked further into the laboratory, Elita became puzzled as she began to grow dizzy. Stopping to hold her head as she swayed on her feet, the other's words were fuzzy in her ears as the Autobot crumpled to the ground.

_[Location: Autobot Base] Prime Universe_

Ratchet was crouching down, looking at the hydroponic garden Elita was utilizing for fresh produce as he thought on the problem at hand. He was having trouble with that though, his mind recalling watching Elita-One tending to her plants as she would sing and talk to them. The habit that he use to think was silly the medic was missing the most.

A familiar smell was drifting through the base now, bringing the Autobot to his feet and an unknowing smile to his face. Following the scented vapors Ratchet found himself in the main room of the Autobot base, where Optimus Prime was speaking to Agent Fowler. The human was holding a large cup of coffee while he spoke with the leader of the Autobots.

Grumbling a bit as his shoulders dropped, the older bot made his way over to his station to look over his recent data bits he had received while away. There was a long pause in the pulses that had been recorded, which actually worried all of them until it had picked up again at its usual, increasing intervals. As he typed away one thought came back suddenly, making him pause as he just stared blankly at the screen. It was somewhat like the situation where the kids had gotten trapped in the shadow-zone with the Terrorcon.

It wasn't a moment later that Optimus had noticed his friend seemed frozen in place, "Ratchet?"

Slowly the medic looked over at his commanding officer, "I think I've figure out how to get to her back."

**Author's Note: I DO NOT OWN TF Prime or Rescuebots.**

I got to reading on that the executive producer of both shows say that they are in the same continuity, meaning that at the start of this story that Griffin Rock, Maine should have been relatively the same in both places. BUT! Since I'm not really following the show as closely it's not that big of an issue. Just don't know personally if I'm going to deal with the issue or not.


	6. Chapter 6

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine] Rescuebots Universe_

Her vision was blurry, a bright white light shining directly in her eyes while there were voices mumbling around her. Her body felt heavy as she tried to move, but then there was the weight of something pressing down on her shoulders to keep her in place. Panic filled her at being restrained and she began to struggle. "No… No! I am not your guinea pig! I didn't want this to happen to me! Let me go!"

The pressure did as she violently requested and Elita bolted upright, struggling to breathe, drenched in a cold sweat. As she calmed, her vision cleared and she took in her surroundings. She wasn't in Doc Greene's laboratory anymore, but sitting on some sort of couch in the man's living room. Doc Greene and Professor Baranova were standing beside her, both with worried looks on their faces. Glancing around Elita found Cody and Frankie at the side of the couch that her feet were resting on. All four were wearing worried looks on their faces.

Closing her eyes, she took a couple more deep breaths as she buried her face in her hands, "I'm sorry."

"I had never planned on experimenting on you, my dear," Doc Greene said, his tone matching hers as he passed her his handkerchief, "it's not the sort of science that I'm personally interested in."

Looking over at him, Elita could only give a tired smile with her nod of thanks as she took the cloth and patted her face clean, "It wasn't you at all, sir. It was-"her voice died as she looked down at the cloth, now covered in softly glowing blue specks. "There are some people back at home that would dissect me if they got a chance to."

"Are you… alien?" Professor Baranova asked, her voice quiet.

"Not quite," the Autobot breathed more than spoke. She glanced out of the window at her larger body and frowned. "About how far is your lab from the front of the house, Doctor Greene?"

He too was looking out at the bike that sat in his driveway, "From the entry way to the point in my laboratory you collapsed is just over five hundred feet."

Elita frowned as the thought about it. She never thought about how far her larger form was away from her before, but in the base there was really no reason that she was really ever that far from her larger form. The kitchen was relatively near Ratchet's own laboratory, so at the times she left her larger form there under his care it was apparently fine. But then again, she had not been eating as much as she normally would, nor taking in energon while she had been there. _Great, more for Ratchet to test when I get back._ Though that thought only made her frown more for the fact that she might not make it back.

Looking back at the others in the room, she couldn't help but smile at the fact that three of them were doing their best to reign in their curiosity about her. "Let's get my bike in the lab and I'll explain."

"Deal!" Doc Greene said, his exuberance quite contagious.

Elita looked over at Frankie and Cody, "You two want a ride?"

"Sure!" the young man said, looking at Doc Greene's daughter, "you want to?"

"I don't know," Frankie said, looking over at her father.

He could tell by the light in her eyes that she really wished to, and it only made him laugh. "Sure, why not?"

"I promise they'll be safe," Elita said as they all walked out. The adults watched as the two youngsters climbed onto the bench seat, Elita having dug out two helmets for them to wear; her usual red one for Cody and the purple one she kept for when Miko rode with her for Frankie, and passed them to her riders. Once she was certain that the helmets were secured, Elita actually stepped away from the bike. Looking at Professor Baranova, she winked as the bike started itself up and slowly made it way around the house to the laboratory's garage door. Since both Professor Baranova and Doc Greene knew about her alternate form, the only surprise that they had was the fact that she didn't directly order it do anything.

After they entered the lab and shut the door, the kids were off the bike and passing the helmets back to her as she put them away. Then Elita gave the empathic command for her larger body to transform, and kneel where it was. Touching it with her own hands, Elita closed her eyes as she felt the connection that she needed and the strength from it.

"I was born human, still qualify as mostly human," she began, rubbing her hand on her larger arm, "but I was in an accident that nearly cost me my life, but it linked my mind to her. I'm actually linked in more than just being in command of my bot, she's my lifeline." Looking back at the others with a slight blush in her cheeks, she admitted, "We're still figuring out everything that goes with it."

"Are they hurting you with the tests?" Professor Baranova asked, a deep worry in her voice.

"Not the ones I'm with, no," Elita gave the woman a reassuring smile, "But there are others that wish to reproduce the accident for their own benefit, and none of it is good."

"I can understand why," the lady professor said, looking up at the large machine, "I have seen the Rescuebots in action. In the wrong hands they could cause much harm."

Elita nodded, "But the amazing thing about, even before it all of this happened, the more I worked with her the more she predicted what I was needed her to do. She was beginning to react before I said anything and we became even more efficient as a team. It was her reacting like that that is what possibly saved my life."

A glance at Cody and she saw the smile he gave her let her know that she had given them the perfect excuse if the Bots ever needed to react on their own. Turning back to Doc Greene and Professor Baranova at his side, she smiled. "Now, about your own experiment."

_[Location: Autobot Base] Prime Universe_

It took time, again missing his usual recharge time, but Ratchet thought it was worth it to get the equations, coding, and physical upgrade changes that the ground bridge needed if their mission was to succeed. Once he had the whole idea planned out and Optimus' approval, he and Rafael focused on what they needed to do.

Rafael had gathered as much information on the Multi-verse theory as he could for their use, but they weren't going to turn the ground bridge into a direct portal into the alternate reality. That was too risky. They were going to piggyback on the signal that was reaching into theirs, using the ground bridge to help hold open the doorway long enough for Ratchet to go through and retrieve the wayward Autobot.

Looking up from the flooring he was working under, the Autobot medic saw Rafael pull off his glasses, rub his eyes before replacing them, and gave a lengthy yawn before he went back to typing at his laptop. It was rather late at night, or early morning, and they had been working all day on it. Pulling himself out of the floor, Ratchet slowly walked over to where the young human was working away. "Rafael, go get you some sleep."

Raf looked up at the bot, his hands slowing, "It's ok, Ratchet. I'm fine."

"I'll need you fully rested tomorrow," the medic replied gently, "Your job is one of the most important for this all to work."

"What about you, Ratchet?" the young man asked as he saved his work.

Giving a kind smile, it was a completely different side than what he had shown in the previous week. "This is far from the first time I have skipped recharges to work and I doubt it will be the last." Ratchet had scooped up the tiny human and carried him over to the couch. "Now rest."

"Goodnight, Ratchet," Rafael said after another long yawn before taking off his glasses, setting them on the table before stretching out on the couch, almost asleep instantly.

Giving the young man one last glance, Ratchet slowly climbed back into the flooring to finish his physical upgrade of the ground bridge.

**Author's Note: I do not own TF: Prime or Rescuebots.**


	7. Chapter 7

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine] Prime Universe_

Ratchet was having to crouch down to keep from getting himself trapped in the thick trees around him. It put him on relative eye level with Arcee as they and the three humans with them waited. Jack volunteered to go with them, even before Optimus Prime had spoken about the mission with the others. Having taken Prime and Arcee aside to speak with the Autobot leader, Arcee could only smile at her ward's large heart and his knowing that she wanted to go rescue their friend as well.

Jack's mother, June, was waiting with them as well. Jack had explained to his mother what had happened to Elita shortly after the teen found out, and like the rest of them, she worried about what might have happened to E after she had disappeared. The emergency nurse had stated that she wanted to go, and would rather go and not be needed than learn differently after they had returned.

Ratchet glanced over at the third human of the group, Miko. She was quick to ask to 'go with', as the young teen often stated. Much like the argument that got her sent to New York with Jack, Bumblebee, and Arcee in search of the Iacon relic, the phase shifter, Miko had managed to get herself in on this team as well. Though the logic of her statement even Ratchet couldn't argue with. In case they needed a cover, Miko was quick to think on her feet for one. Also, one more human would only help them out if they found themselves stuck in a reality void of Cybertronians.

Touching a finger to his audio sensor, the Autobot medic opened a communication cannel to his partner back at the base. "Ratchet to Rafael, is everything ready?"

"_As ready as they can be on our end, Ratchet,"_ the young man replied. Ratchet could hear the keystrokes on the young man's laptop as he was typing in the commands he needed. _"As soon as we have another signal break through, I'll lock onto it."_

"It's been almost two hours," Arcee said, shifting her weight from her left foot to her right, arms crossed, "Are you sure it's going to show up?"

"Positive." He didn't mean to snap the word, but the fem had just voiced his latest fear. What if the person or persons responsible for the breach and several attempts afterwards just stopped what they were doing? As that settled heavily in his spark, Ratchet couldn't help but perk-up as there was a wave of distortion in the air to their collective left. Shortly after it appeared Rafael's excited voice came through the communicator.

"_I'm locking onto it now,"_ the young man was heard over the swift clicks of the keys his fingers touched.

"_Ratchet,"_ Prime's voice cut through now,_ "Arcee. We will be waiting for your swift return. Be careful."_

"Will do, Optimus," the medic replied, the motorcycle with him echoing the reply before they both transformed into their vehicular modes. Jack was securing his helmet as he climbed onto Arcee while June and Miko climbed into Ratchet's cab.

Rafael opened the ground bridge, locking onto the odd energy signature, giving the shimmering air in front of the group a mostly purplish glow with streaks of red and orange. Jack and Arcee were the first ones through, followed swiftly by Ratchet, before the portal closed behind them in a wink.

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine] Rescuebots Universe_

Doc Greene was about to start his latest round of tests on the repaired device that brought Elita-One, or Ellan Greer, as he and Frankie knew her as, through into their reality. What had happened a few days before, between Ellan collapsing to how shaky she was when she drove Cody home afterwards, worried the scientist. She was showing similar symptoms to someone who was suffering from hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Perhaps her body wasn't adapting to the food provided for her here, that there was something on a molecular scale that was different here from where she came from that wasn't allowing her body to derive the nutrients she needed.

Then the good doctor frowned at another thought. What if her body, since it was linked to the robotic form with her, needed a different source of energy? Certainly before the other day he had never seen anyone sweat glowing blue. It wasn't until he was getting ready for bed that he realized that Ellan had kept his handkerchief with her. The woman was certainly use to protecting herself, but with that important bit that she took with her Doc Greene wouldn't be able to come up with an alternate fuel source for her.

"What has you looking so serious this morning?" Turning at the woman's voice, Doc Greene's face lit up as he saw Professor Baranova walking closer to him, carrying a couple bags with one of the local dining establishments, "I hope you do not mind that I brought breakfast this morning."

"Professor Baranova, good morning! How very thoughtful of you!" He took the bags from her, setting them on the table before turning back to face his fellow scientist, "You look lovely this morning."

That painted a lovely shade of pink on her cheeks, "Thank you." She quickly moved over to the bags and helped him pull out the meal. She had gotten enough for both of them and Frankie, the young lady out walking Edison and Aristotle, the Doberman canines that the young lady raised since they were puppies. "I thought it prudent to bring our meal instead of taking the time to cook something."

"Excellent thinking," Doc Greene agreed, sitting down with the Professor. It was about ten minutes before Frankie joined them, happily hopping onto a spare work stool before she dug into the food.

With their fast broken, Frankie watched as her father and his friend begin to work on the machine. Soon they were attempting to power up the device, Doc Greene at the controls and Professor Baranova near the square with the rounded edges, taking down observation notes. Suddenly the shimmer inside of the square turned to a violent, yet beautiful, storm of purples with streaks of reds and oranges in it.

"Incredible!" Professor Baranova said, her clipboard dipping a bit in her hands as she stepped closer to the side of it. She was slowly backing away, even as Doc Greene joined her, as the sound of some sort of engine driven device was coming towards them. When a motorcycle with its rider burst through vortex of colors, swiftly followed by an ambulance, all three humans in the laboratory leapt clear of their path. With an amazing skill, both vehicles managed to stop almost instantly as they had entered the lab, the only damage left from their entrance were the skid-marks on the floor.

Jack pulled off his helmet, taking a deep breath from the rush, before looking around. Seeing both of the scientists and the young lady with them, he gave a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Um… Hi."

"That was a rush!" The excited, young woman's voice came from the opening and slamming of the passenger's door from the ambulance, drawing the attention of the group. "I so can't wait to do that again!"

"One thing at a time," came a more matronly voice as a woman dressed in green scrubs with a brown over shirt exited the driver side of the ambulance.

"Right!" said the Japanese teenager with large, bright pink stripes in her hair, "We've gotta find E!"

"You must be friends of Ellan's," Doc Greene said, having instinctively placed Processor Baranova protectively behind him at their initial entrance. "This is wonderful news! You might be able to help her."

It was everything for the Autobots not to speak to ask the questions they all had running through their minds. Fortunately Jack spoke first, "What happened to Aunt Ellan?"

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine, Emergency Headquarters]_

Elita was crouching over the sizeable fire she was using to roast a practically whole cow, the two sides of beef on a spit that she was slowly turning over the heat source. She was outside a safe distance from the back of the building, sitting across the bench on her bike form, her nose in another book she borrowed from Graham, as she slowly turned the spit with an impromptu device she made from some old bicycle parts she had found. Turning the pedals with her own feet and legs as she lounged back, it turned the chains and gears to slowly turn the spit. It used some of the energy she had left, but hopefully she would gain it back after the meal.

Shortly after the Rescuebots had left for the day, Elita had made contact with Optimus Prime. Heatwave had been kind enough to fill in the Autobot leader on what had happened, but Prime was rather surprised that she had sought him out directly. She explained that she was having trouble with her energy, but hated the idea of taxing their already low supply of energon for it. Instead, she had asked Optimus if he could have his human liaison procure one simple item for her.

Upon agreeing, Optimus had said he would send someone through with her request as soon as Agent Fowler agreed. It was almost three hours before the ground bridge opened up and Bumblebee stepped through, the fresh beef in hand. Heartily thanking the scout for the delivery, Elita was surprised when he had also given her a bit of energon as well. He explained that it was Optimus' orders, so while she waited for the food to cook she wouldn't end up doing more possible harm to herself from the lack of proper energy. The spare amount of energon was what was allowing her to even be outside of her larger form, her energy so low that she couldn't even run the two forms separately.

Now with her larger form at rest it was just waiting for the meat to finish cooking, which would be around the time the Burns family normally returned for the day, if there were no dire emergencies they needed to handle. Elita could easily eat one side of beef on her own, but felt guilty about fixing her something to eat and not the family that had been kind enough to shelter her during her stay.

Looking up from her book at the sound of motorized vehicles approaching, Elita was wondering if the family was having a slow day and was returning for lunch. Unfortunately she couldn't join them at the moment. Despite the boost of energon, she wasn't able to get more than five feet away from her larger body before collapsing. She heard Cody's excited voice greeting whoever had pulled up to the front of the building. A familiar voice reached her ears, making her drop the sizeable book in her lap as Elita looked up to the side of the building.

At seeing Miko come running around the brick structure, Elita set the book down and climbed off her vehicular form. The hug the young lady attached herself to the missing Autobot with was practically a python's hold. Hearing the girl's sniffles brought tears to her own eyes as she squeezed Miko, more to reassure herself that the young lady in her arms was real.

E looked up when she heard Jack and June's voices as well as they rushed around to the back of the building with them. Seeing Doc Greene, Frankie, and Professor Baranova with them, she realized that if they had brought 'others' with them that they wouldn't risk being discovered. At seeing the large slabs of meat, now just sitting there over the fire, Elita could only shrug at the puzzled looks that the two scientists and the daughter of one of them gave her, "I got hungry?"

"I think I have something that would work to turn the spit," Doc Greene said, taking in the device she had made, "I will be back shortly!"

When he had left, E had turned back to return to her spot on the bike, finding that Cody had taken over for her. Giving the young man an appreciative nod, she sat down on the normal seat part of her vehicular mode. While June managed to pry Miko away, the young lady never went far. Jack was at his mother's side, holding her medical bag, as June proceeded to give Elita a standard human check-up. While she was doing so, Frankie and Professor Baranova were kind enough to fill Elita in on the events that had happened that morning.

She wanted to ask who came with her human friends, but couldn't risk blowing their cover. She assumed that Arcee was at least one of them, knowing that the motorcycle fem would never let Jack go alone, but when Frankie mentioned an ambulance coming through as well, it brought a smile to her face. She should have known Ratchet would come.

Looking over at Cody, Elita gave him a warm smile, "How about you let them park the vehicles in the garage? People might start wondering how an ambulance got onto the island."

"Sure thing," the young man said, hopping down and bid Jack and June to follow. As the trio went back around to the front of the house, Miko had beaten Elita to taking over the turning of the meat. Giving a tired sigh, Elita just relaxed back onto the seat. Professor Baranova stepped up beside the bike as Frankie hopped onto it.

"Are you feeling better?" Doc Greene's daughter asked.

"I will as soon as I get some food in me," Elita admitted.

_[Inside]_

Cody ran through the door and over to the garage door controls, quickly opening the door. Jack was walking Arcee in as June climbed into Ratchet's cab, letting the Autobot do the driving into the building. "I don't like this," the Autobot medic admitted to the woman sitting in his cab.

"Elita suggested it," June said with a tired sigh as they pulled into the shade, the garage door closing behind them.

"How is she?" the Autobot symbol on the steering wheel was flashing as he spoke.

"Mostly a lack of energy, how bad I can't tell," the nurse admitted, "it would be best to have you check her out."

"As soon as I can get some privacy to do so, I will."

With that, June exited from the cab and walked over to her son as he was speaking to the young man that Elita referred to as Cody. The younger man's eyes lit up more as she approached. "Are they Cybertronian, too?"

**Author's Note: I don't own these shows!**


	8. Chapter 8

_[Lcoation: Griffin Rock, Maine, Inside Emergency Headquarters] Rescuebots Universe_

All four felt horribly trapped by the young man standing before them. Did Elita somehow feel comfortable enough to explain who and what she was to this boy, or did in her desperation have to come clean about the truth in order to survive? When Jack tried to laugh it off, stumbling a bit on his words as he tried to think, June quickly spoke up.

"We're not… exactly like Ellan," she offered, trying to sound as sure of herself as she could be. Unfortunately her son had inherited her shy nature.

"It's alright," Cody continued with a bright smile, "Elita told us about what had happened to her. We also have other Autobots here - Rescuebots in fact." He then peeked around the two humans at the vehicles that came with them. "It's alright to transform in here, but I really suggest you do it in the lower bunker, it's much safer."

Before the visitors could react to that the garage door opened up behind them, allowing a police car to pull in before it shut again. Jack and June turned to face the car as Chief Burns stepped out of the car, calmly walking over to them.

"Hey, Dad!" Cody greeted his father, running over to his side, "Hey, Chase." That greeting directed to the car made the older man pause, giving his son a warning glance. He never had to worry about Cody giving up the secret they shared. Unless…

Turning back towards the two visitors, he smiled, "You must be our guests that Doc Greene had phoned me about." He offered his hand to June first, "Chief Charlie Burns."

"June Darby," the nurse said with a warm smile, "and this is my son, Jack."

When the police chief offered to shake his hand, Jack returned the gesture, "Pleasure to meet you."

With a nod, Chief Burns stepped back and looked over at the vehicles they brought with them. "It's a haven here, but I recommend that you wait until those not in my family and yours to leave before transforming. Also, we have a lower bunker that is free from prying eyes that might cause trouble." Then he turned towards the police car he arrived in, "Chase, would you kindly take our guests below?"

Swiftly transforming, the Rescuebot nodded at the order. "If you both will follow me," he said as he stepped over to the large platform.

Arcee and Ratchet both focused on Jack and June. "Are you sure about this?" Arcee asked them.

"It'll be ok," the teenager said as he gently rubbed the seat, "They've taken care of Elita."

After a moment of hesitation, Arcee made her way over to the platform before transforming, turning to face the ambulance. "You coming, Ratchet?"

Ratchet transformed as well, but knelt down to look at the police chief, "I need to see Elita as soon as possible. I worry about what damage that may have occurred to her in her stay here."

Understanding crossed the human's face, especially with Elita-One not feeling well the past few days. "I'll send her in as soon as I see her."

Satisfied with that, the Autobot medic stood up and walked over to the platform and waited for the other bot to lower it into the bunker. Once the lift stopped, both he and Arcee focused on Chase as the police car just stood there staring at them, star struck. Neither one of them were more surprised when the first words out of the stunned bot's vocal unit were, "May I have your authorized signatures for my collection booklet?"

_[Outside]_

The four humans exited the building through the backdoor and it gave Chief Charlie Burns an exact view of what was going on behind his house. The first thing was the sound of two excited young ladies chatting it up, secondly the smell of cooking meat. It wasn't surprising that Elita was cooking, but somehow she had managed to get some rather sizeable sides of beef roasting over a nice little controlled fire. Professor Baranova was laughing at the girls, so energetic around each other, while Elita was more leaning on her bike to keep upright, but still joining in on what parts of the conversation she could.

"Nice little party you ladies have going on out here," he said as they stopped near them, and then he smiled at Elita. "Ellan, I think you need to get out of the sun for a bit. You don't look so well."

She nodded, conceding the comment, "As soon as Doc Greene gets back I'll be able to move." She pointed to the pedals on the back of her bike that Miko was still working on, "It's kinda set up where I have to stay put."

"I see." Pressing the button on the radio on his collar, Chief Burns opened up a channel. "Dani?"

"_Yeah, Dad?"_ came his daughter's reply through the device.

"If you're not busy, would you do me a favor and pick up Doc Greene and the items he's bringing with him and bring him back to the station?" he requested of his daughter.

"_Sure thing," _she answered,_ "Blades and I will head over there right now."_

"Thank you," her father told Dani before shutting off the radio. Then he watched at Elita leaned over, nudging Miko a bit.

"Miko, this is Chief Burns," the Autobot-human explained to the punky teenager. The police chief wasn't the only one to notice Elita's slurred words and sluggish movements.

"Ellan," June said, her momma demeanor kicking in, "serious face here. Inside. Now."

"Y-yes, ma'am."

Jack was on one of Elita's sides, Chief Burns on the other as she struggled to her feet, but as soon as she stopped touching her bike she blacked out. Frowning, Chief Burns reached his radio as he helped hold up the woman. "Chase, I need you out here."

Blades, his passengers, and their cargo had landed by the time Chase swiftly made his way out to the others. Chief Burns had swept the woman up into his arms and ordered Chase and Blades to carry the motorcycle after Doc Greene finished switching the bicycle pedals out with a motor that was strong enough to turn the meat on the spit for the remainder of their cooking time. Until then, Chase had taken over the chore until the good doctor got everything set up.

"Is there anything we can do?" Professor Baranova asked, following the group a short ways towards the building.

The police chief turned to look at the professor, "If you don't mind watching to make sure the food doesn't burn," he asked kindly. "I believe that she figured out her energy problem before the rest of us did and was trying to fix it." The lovely professor nodded, her smile understanding and kind. Dani, Miko, and Cody stayed outside with them to keep the scientists and Frankie distracted.

_[Inside]_

Entering the building and making their way over to the lift, Blades and Chase carefully set Elita's bike form down before lowering the lift. Ratchet and Arcee looked over at the lift as it lowered back down. The medic had been pacing the floor after Chase had gotten the call to come back up. It at least gave the Autobots a break from the constant questions the police car was barraging them with. All that came to mind for both bots was that their new 'friend' was some sort of fan-kid, if they were remembering what the kids had told them. The bot was almost as bad as Miko use to be when they first met the young lady.

Upon seeing Elita being carried in, Ratchet felt his fuel pump seize in his chest. Ignoring the newest bot to have joined them, the medic rushed closer to the police chief to look at the woman in his arms before taking her in his larger hands. "Bring her larger body and follow me."

Blades and Chase didn't argue, only followed orders. Ratchet gently set Elita down on a nearby table and began to run his scans over her. Seeing the problem almost before his scans had completed, Ratchet started to issue out orders. June began to pull out the energon injector that the medic had her pack before they left and handed it to Ratchet, who in turn pressed it into his own arm to withdraw energon from his own systems. Moving over to the custom motorcycle, he found a place to inject her system with the life blood.

During this, Chief Burns and June took the elevator up to the upper floors per Ratchet's orders. The Autobot medic wasn't sure why, but he ordered them to mix up a solution to quickly boost her human body's natural systems. Recalling their training, the pair was in the kitchen mixing up a simple syrup solution.

Arcee actually had to stop Ratchet from taking out a third full container of energon from his own system, worried that he would end up hurting himself in the process. When he looked up at her, frustration in his optics until Arcee held her own arm out. The silent request gained her a small smile from the medic as he withdrew energon from her as she wished to do what she could to help their friend out as we. Jack was standing beside Elita's smaller body, holding one of her hands as he watched them work. And he wasn't the only one watching.

"I can't believe it's really him!" Blades squeaked, "First Bumblebee comes to just see us and now Ratchet _and_ Arcee!"

"I even acquired their official signatures for my booklet," Chase stated, showing the helicopter, but his tone was somber as they focused back on Elita. "Do you think that he will be successful in his repairs of our female acquaintance?"

"Are you kidding?" Blades whispered, the situation calming him down as well, "He's one of best, if not _the_ best Autobot medics out there. He was the one teaching Rescuebots before the Great War started." When the elevator opened up, they stood by while Chief Burns and June Darby rushed out and over to where Jack was waiting for their return.

"Help lift her up, Jack," his mother ordered, sounding more like an emergency room nurse. With Chief Burns' help, Jack helped support Elita's smaller body from behind, her head resting on his left shoulder, while his mother very carefully tipped the glass of the watery liquid into her mouth. It was slow going to keep her from choking, but when half of the glass was gone June let the men rest her back on the table.

Ratchet joined them to run a fresh set of scans over Elita, some of the tension leaving his frame. He wasn't sure exactly which method of energy infusion was working, or if it was a combination of the two, but she was already showing signs of improvement. Carefully lifting her up, Ratchet carried Elita over to her larger body, still in its trike form, and placed her on the bench that ran across the back tires, his hopes that she would make a faster recovery this way.

Nurse Darby stood by her side and held her hand, feeling her pulse. She wasn't entirely sure what constituted "normal" in Elita's unique physiology, but much like her Autobot counterpart she was learning as they went day by day. After several minutes E began to stir slightly. "Elita can you hear me? It's June," she asked softly.

Still in a very incoherent state E kept her eyes closed and squeezed June's hand. Much like a teen trying to wake up long enough to find the snooze button, asked in a very whimsical tone, "I can has cheeseburger?"

June smiled, not quite getting the reference.

"Elita, you've been through quite an ordeal and you're still in need of rest," said Rathchet softly, as to not bring her out of her restful state as he still knelt on the other side of the motorcycle. "You can have your cheeseburger soon." Miko, standing several feet away with Jack, couldn't help but laugh and Jack just shook his head and smiled.

Chief Burns spoke up to offer assistance, "Is there anything I or my family can do to help?"

"At the moment, no," Ratchet said, glancing slightly to bring the elder Burns into his field of vision while monitoring his patient. "Your help in caring for Elita during her stay here has been invaluable, thank you."

Chief Burns smiled, placing his hands on Cody's shoulders as his youngest son stood before him, "Whatever reality they are from, Autobots are still friends."

Arcee smiled at the comment and nodded her approval. It was becoming clear that whatever the dynamic was on this world between Autobots and humans, this group at least was developing bonds similar to those among her own "family".

"Ratchet, Sir?" Blades interjected almost timidly, poking his index fingers together.

"Yes?" The medic asked, not turning his head away from the readout he was looking at.

Blades seemed unsure of himself, but cleared his throat and continued, "I know that her being of your world you know more about her than us, but if she's a single being in two parts, and now that both parts have been stabilized, would she possibly recover faster if her human form merged with her robot form?" After getting out his entire thought in practically a single breath, as the humans would say, Blades waited anxiously to see if he had offended one of his idols.

Ratchet looked for a moment as if he had been hit in the faceplate. When she was brought in her condition was so bad that her larger form was stuck in the mode she had left it in to stay at rest, in a form of stasis lock. He smiled saying, "Great thinking , Blades!" making Blades grin widely. "I was so caught up with stabilizing her that I totally missed it." He looked down at Elita, still muttering nonsense about burgers and jelly donuts. "Elita, if you can understand me, you have to try to transform."

"Worms transform into pretty butterflies," she said with a delirious tone.

Ratchet thought for a moment, then lifted her back up gently as she sang to herself, "June, would you cut the back of her shirt open? It will give her a more direct contact between her forms." Ratchet sat her gently on the trike's main seat, letting her rest forward on his hand while June cut the fabric away.

The nanite fibers comprising the Autobot symbol on her back glowed slightly and the song she had been muttering began to come from both forms. The instrumentals to the song began to play through the bike as well. Everyone assembled looked relieved, if not a little confused. At least both aspects of Elita-One were doing _something_. Arcee walked over and asked E if she could transform. This time the trike began to transform to robot mode and pulled the humanoid component into he proper compartment.

Once in robot mode her eyes lit dimly, she took several steps and started to fall. Blades and Chase, being closest caught her and eased her back down. "You don't look so good Elita," Blades said with obvious concern for his new friend. "You should probably power down and let Ratchet and Arcee take care of you still." She was no longer singing, and seemed to show that she recognized her surroundings and didn't feel in danger, but still didn't seem to have all her snap back.

"Blades is correct. You still need to recover and let both your forms rest and re-sync," Ratchet began, "and as your physician I think it wise that you power down for awhile and just let yourself recover properly."

Elita looked around at those in the room. She smiled weakly, her eyes glowing slightly brighter and said, "Thank you, all… all of you," and powered down to rest.

**Author's Note: I don't own these shows. **

Thanks for all the reads, reviews, watches, and faves! You guys are the best!

To clarify, E is not Jack's actual aunt. He just claims her that way around other humans.


	9. Chapter 9

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine, Emergency Headquarters, Lower Bunker] Rescuebots Universe_

A group of mumbling voices, really indistinguishable at the moment, was the first thing she became aware of as she began to come back to the waking world. The second was the massive amount of aches and pains she felt all over. She remembered being out, her mother talking her into going to see a movie to get her out of the house, and she had stopped afterwards to go have a double dark chocolate iced mocha at her favorite little coffee shop before heading home. She didn't realize exactly how restrictive, more like suffocating, her relationship with her boyfriend, ex-boyfriend now, had been until after she told him to hit the road.

The aches became worse, bringing back the memories of that night. The car that rammed hers off the road. The men that swarmed her car after it hit the cement retaining wall, the ones that pulled her free with little regard of how she felt and proceeded to push her vehicle off the cliff side before they shoved a sack over her head. She couldn't move her arms or legs now, making her mind panic. But… it all seemed so far off now. The mumbling started to grow louder the more she struggled. She had to break free!

It was late that same night, Doc Greene, his daughter Frankie, and Professor Baranova all left after they, the Burns family, and the three visitors from the alternate reality shared one of the rather large meals that Elita had prepared earlier in the week. From Jack and Miko's reaction to the meal, they had missed Elita's skills in the kitchen. The sides of beef that the Autobot-human hybrid began roasting had been removed from their spit after they had finished cooking and now were waiting in the lower bunker.

Ratchet and Arcee actually settled in more as they all waited on Elita-One's recovery. Two more Rescuebots returned home with their humans that afternoon and the star-struck reaction was starting to wear the visitors a bit thin. It was the mutual concern over their friend that eventually calmed everyone down.

Heatwave looked over at the Autobot medic as he stood beside the large table Elita-One was resting on. He remembered training under Ratchet, being in one of the last groups to have been trained in the rescue arts before the old medic had retired and before the Great War had started and called him back into action, and never in all of the years did the fire truck had known the older bot had he ever shown less than true compassion for any under his care. In his teaching, yes the medic was methodical, detached emotionally as any good rescuer should be, but there was always a gentle nature to his care. It seemed that at least this Ratchet had the same mannerisms to his treatments, but there was something… softer to the bot now.

The Rescuebot leader also had to remind himself that this wasn't the same Ratchet he trained under all those eons ago. That these bots before them might share quite a few similarities with bots in their own reality, but that was about as far as it went. It also made him wonder if Ratchet was on Optimus' team in this reality.

Arcee stepped up beside Heatwave, looking at her friends, "So what's on your mind?"

"Just assessing the differences of our realities," the fire truck stated, his arms crossed over his torso.

"Don't hurt yourself with it," the motorcycle quipped, gaining a chuckle from her new friend. "The main thing that I can tell you is that we don't have Rescuebots on our Earth. Not yet at least."

Heatwave gruffed a bit, "If they showed up there, would Optimus keep them away like he's done us here?"

Arcee simply shrugged, shifting her weight on her feet, "No idea. You'd have to ask Optimus that." That gained a playful roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, while he chuckled. Arcee walked off to stand on the other side of the table. "Any change?"

The medic looked up at his friend, but right before he spoke a scream sliced through the air. Both Ratchet and Arcee grabbed an arm as Elita began to thrash about, screaming incoherently. Ratchet shot a look over to the Rescuebots present, all four already running over to help hold her down to keep from hurting herself.

Focused back down at her, holding her left arm and shoulder, the Autobot medic had to yell to be heard over her. "Elita! Ellan! Stop struggling, you're going to hurt yourself."

Boulder had let go of her left foot, leaving Chase to hold down both feet, and rushed up to where her head thrashed from side to side, gently cupping her head in his hands and forcing her to look up at him as he leaned over her. "Ssshhh," the green strong-bot said soothingly, a tactic Ratchet recalled teaching his students, getting your subject to focus on something other than the pain. "You're with friend's Elita. We're not going to hurt you. You need to focus and wake up. Thatta girl."

It was still a completely human reaction to take such deep 'breaths', but that's what she did as Elita-One became more aware of her surroundings, the people around her, and as the last bits of the nightmare faded away. The lift that the humans used to access the bunker was opening up as the other bots let her go to sit up, all the humans present in the building rushing into the room. Apparently they had heard Elita up above.

"Elita?" Jack and Cody asked as they ran into the room ahead of the others, with Miko right on their heels, "are you alright?" Both young men looked at each other as they stopped just outside of stepping range and smiled.

Miko rolled her eyes at the pair and pushed past them as the others joined the little group. "Is she alright? No more wacky passing out anymore?"

Elita lifted her head up enough to look down at the young lady, trying to figure out if it was her Miko or the Miko that belonged here, if there was a Miko involved here. Apparently her confusion was easy to read on her face as she looked around, Arcee having stepped around the table to stand beside Ratchet.

"We're here to bring you home," the motorcycle fem stated, smiling as Elita focused up at her.

"Oh?" E nodded, still looking a bit out of it, "Good. I guess I do need to go home."

"You need to eat before we do anything else," Ratchet stated, then looked back up at the others, "We'll head back tomorrow as soon as she feels up to it."

"Sounds like a plan," Chief Burns said sharing a nod with the medic. "In the meantime, it's quite late."

"Yes, yes," the medic mumbled as he ran another scan over Elita.

Jack actually pulled Cody and Miko around by their shoulders, "How about we get some rest and get up early in the morning."

"Are you kidding me?" Miko asked flatly, "We're in another reality and you want to sleep?"

"There will be more to explore during the daylight hours," June said as she walked behind the younger humans.

"Hey, Miko," Dani said, pulling the girl away from the boys, "how about Blades and I take you out for our normal morning run?"

"Really?!" the young lady bounced around a bit, "Can we do all sorts of crazy flying stunts?" They missed Blades groaning in fear as the elevator doors shut.

"We should recharge ourselves," Heatwave told his subordinates calmly. There were a few grumbles, but no outright complaints.

Elita, looking a bit more awake, smiled over at her new friends. "It's alright guys. I'm going to get some leftovers in me and rest a bit more. Thanks for everything."

Bidding their goodnights, the visitors watched the Rescuebots slowly walk into the other room of the bunker. Elita looked back up at Ratchet as his arm relaxed down from his scan. "It's really good to see you two."

"What happened?" Arcee asked as she and Ratchet helped E stand by grabbing each an arm.

"I realized that I was running out of energy pretty quickly," the Cybertronian-Human hybrid said quietly, mostly to not be overheard by those who had kept her safe during her stay. "I limited myself on the food and energon intake."

"You more or less almost starved yourself to death, Elita," Ratchet stated a bit harshly. Arcee heard the undertone of worry in his voice though.

His words stung her 'heart' a bit, making E bite on her bottom lip, again a purely human gesture. "I didn't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden," the medic almost snapped, but quickly soften his tone at the look on her face.

"I don't think any of them would have thought you a burden, Elita," Arcee quickly added, "You always worked yourself to the servos back home, putting yourself at risk to bring in the energon so that you wouldn't strain our supply."

"And everything that Chase and Blades had told us of what you have been doing while you've been trapped here," the medic said as he let her start walking on her own over to the table that the two large sides of beef were waiting at, "expending all that energy and not taking in enough to replace what you've spent, I don't think that they even once thought you were just taking from them and not giving in return."

Arcee had let go as well, letting Elita focus down at the table. She couldn't help but smile as the smell of roasted meat hit her olfactory sensors. "Oh that smells so good, but why didn't they eat one of them?"

"Because they had decided that you needed it all to regain your energy," the blue motorcycle smirked.

"And you will eat it all," Ratchet stated, mater-of-factly, "Doctor's orders."

E smirked at him and gave a light salute before she let her human body disengage from her Cybertronian form. But as soon as her feet touched the ground both forms wavered. Ratchet caught the larger one while Arcee had quickly scooped up her smaller.

"You still don't have enough energy to be running both forms separately," the medic frowned, "or at least not enough to not keep physical contact, but you can't intake the food in your Cybertronian form."

Elita looked up at Ratchet as he held her, "Let me sit on my bike. I can eat there."

"It'll be physical contact at least," Arcee agreed.

Nodding, Ratchet let Elita transform herself into her bike mode and let Arcee set her on the bench seat. Before she could even get comfortable, Ratchet had grabbed one of the sides of beef and attempted to hand it to her. The thoughtful frown he gave made her giggle as he realized that the meat was bigger than she was. "How about tearing off part of it?"

Looking down at the meat in his hands, the medic gave a tug and passed the smaller half to her. It still easily filled the other half of the seat, but that was fine with her. As she began tearing off pieced of the meat herself, Elita let her friends fill her in on what had happened while she had been away and in turn she shared her story with them.

The fact that the Autobot medic was almost constantly scanning her while she ate didn't surprise Elita, but she didn't notice what her friends had. There was still a faint blue glow to her skin and in patches on her cut shirt. It was after she began to work on eating the second side of beef, having to slow down a bit as she began to feel full, both Elita and Arcee noticed that Ratchet was paying attention to the conversation less and focused on his scans more, especially when he began to mumble thoughtfully.

"What is it, Ratchet?" Arcee asked as they both looked up at him.

Startled out of his thoughts, the medic still looked a bit stunned as he focused down at the smaller Autobot. "I had a suspicion about your food intake affecting your body, wasn't absolutely sure about it. This is…" he looked back down at his readout, "Elita, your body is actually converting the food you intake into energon. It's the same process that a normal human body turns the food into fuel for itself, save that there is no real excessive byproduct."

"I actually had a hunch," Elita spoke through her bike form as she was chewing on a rib, "I was actually taking notes on how much I was eating of what foods in a day as well as how much actual energon I was needing in that span of time."

"Wait a minute," Arcee said, looking quite serious as she motioned towards Elita, "you both mean to say that she actually produces energon?"

"It's looking that way," Elita said as she tossed yet another bone on the table, adding to the sizeable stack there, "but as of yet I'm not sure how that will really help you all out except I don't have to be dishing in on the energon we've got stocked up."

"It appears that Vector Sigma had taken the best parts of the human form and integrated them into a better Cybertronian," Ratchet said softly as he let his arms relax at his sides.

Elita actually stopped chewing as she looked back up at the medic. "Forgive me this," she said quietly, "but I don't want to be a better Cybertronian."

**Author's Note: I don't own either one of these shows!**

Sorry for the delay. I've been trying to finish up getting my certifications for Microsoft Office (which really takes up a lot of time) and trying to figure out how exactly to put this. I could have easily said that she woke up and they went home, but that's not really much of a story to it and I don't like the idea of cheating ya'll out of any good bits. Either that or I've been rambling again. ^_^


	10. Chapter 10

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine, Emergency Headquarters] Rescuebots Universe_

The smell of breakfast floating through the building early the next morning was enough to rouse even the humans who despised the early morning hours into a happy mood. Making their way to the kitchen, the Burns family and their visitors, Jack, Miko, and June, were relieved to see Elita up and about. The large table was already set with all sorts of food offerings for the meal and it allowed them all free choice on what and how much they wished to eat.

Dani and Miko were chatting excitedly about their upcoming patrol with Blades as they sat off to the side at the couch and coffee table while the male population filled in around the table. Chief Charlie Burns had pulled out the chair that June had chosen to sit in, gaining a warm smile from the nurse. He, too, did the same for Elita once she decided to finally sit down and join them in the meal, but she was only drinking coffee.

"Don't you need to eat?" June asked her, noticing the lack of food.

"Are you kidding me?" E laughed a bit before taking a drink, "Ratchet stood there and made sure I ate both sides of beef."

"Are you feeling better, Elita?" Graham asked, leaning over a bit to look past Kade as the fire fighter piled his plate full of pancakes.

Nodding, Elita smiled at the brainy Burns, "Much better. I just know not to do that again."

"Good," Kade said, finally setting down the syrup after pouring most of the contents over his plate, "you need to take care of yourself."

"Are you sure you're feeling well enough to leave?" Cody asked between bites.

Elita had to smile at the family's concern and kindness. "I am. But as much as I'll miss you all, I need to get back to my own life. And they've gotta get back to theirs." She had lightly pointed with her thumb at June, who was sitting beside her. "I've been selfish enough in my vacation to have made them worry to come looking for me." The wink she gave Jack made him start laughing.

"What can we say?" the teenager said with a smirk, "We've missed ya."

Down below, Arcee was having too much fun 'preparing' Blades for his upcoming patrol. It was just too tempting to pass up telling the helicopter Autobot about how much of an adrenaline junkie that Miko was. Everything from tagging along with Bulkhead on his mission to find Agent Fowler, but finding the whole Decepticon warship instead, to bridging onto a moving train, to sneaking behind them all and getting stuck in the shadow-verse with a Terrorcon. But it wasn't just that one Autobot listening to the stories she was sharing.

"I have trouble believing that one young human female could willingly get herself into so much trouble," Chase stated mater-of-factly.

"Um, anybody recall anything Frankie's done?" Heatwave offered as proof to validate what Arcee had told them. The most recent thing that came to mind was when she followed them underground and the fire truck had protected her from the cave-in.

"You do have a point, Heatwave," Boulder kindly pointed out, "but I'm sure that Frankie would know better about going face to face with a Decepticon, even Megatron."

"Her actions might come across as extremely foolish, and most times without her really thinking on them before doing," Ratchet said calmly as he walked up to the group, "but our human friends' have a courage that is bigger than themselves."

"As do ours," Blades had to smile, his brothers-in-arms nodding their agreement. "I think Optimus assigning us here was one of the best things he could have done, especially when it's our mission to learn about the human culture."

"Honestly," the medic stated before Heatwave could actually start grumbling, "the fact that you four have an opportunity to get to know the humans like this, instead of being shoved head on into the war without knowing a thing only benefits you. "

"Yeah, that was short of a nightmare when we first arrived," Arcee agreed. Before any of the four could counter their point, Blade's comm-link started to buzz.

"Hey, Blades," Dani's voice rang through the device, "Miko and I are ready whenever you are."

Giving a worried groan, the helicopter slowly, and fearfully, trudged his way over to the lift that he utilized to get up to the top. The other three finished up their preparations before they left with their human counter parts on their usual patrols. Ratchet and Arcee took the lift up with the others, both pleased to find the whole group of humans in the room, including Elita in her larger form.

"You will tell us good-bye before you leave, right?" Heatwave asked after a moment of hesitation.

Elita smiled at him, "There're a few things I need to do here before I can leave, but yes, I won't leave before saying good-bye."

"Hopefully things will stay quiet out there today," Chief Burns offered lightly, hugging Cody before Chase transformed.

"Bye, guys!" the youngest Burns said cheerfully, "We'll see you all around lunchtime." As his brothers and their Autobots got ready to leave he turned to face those who were staying behind. "So what are we doing today?"

Elita smirked, noticing that the young lad's gaze fell onto Ratchet, who now looked a bit uncomfortable under the look of awe in the young boy's eyes. "I don't think it'll be a good thing for a new ambulance to go driving around town, Cody. Especially with no solid back story on how it got here and where it suddenly goes. It's a small town, people will notice."

Ratchet almost countered Elita's point at the disappointed look Cody got, a look that reminded him of Rafael when Bumblebee was dealing with having Megatron stuck in his head, or Miko when Bulkhead's mind was being overwritten by the data-capsule. And privately it annoyed the medic that he let the kids' emotions get to him so much, but deep down he understood that it helped him remember why the Autobots were fighting.

"But," Elita continued, kneeling down in her larger body to look at the young man, "I do have some things to take care of here before I go and I could use a great helper." That cheered up the young man, who nodded enthusiastically. "Wonderful. I need some extra time like this before I can separate again, but we'll get started as soon as I can."

"There's the ferry that comes from the mainland," Jack said, scratching the back of his head, "and tourists do visit. At least that was your cover for while you were here, right?"

Nodding, Elita looked over at Arcee, "As long as you agree to it."

"Sure, I don't mind enjoying the quiet," the blue motorcycle agreed.

"Great! I'll go get my helmet and be right back." They watched Cody run off to the staircase, taking two at a time.

June knew that both young men were in good hands with Arcee, so she focused on Elita. "What do you have to do?"

Still kneeling, E turned her smile to June. "A few more meals stocked up for them to heat and eat. Plus I was working on a book to help Dani with her cooking."

"That bad?" the mother asked, a knowing smirk on her face. There was a good reason she limited Jack to only cooking in the microwave.

"Her heart's in the right place," Elita said on a soft sigh, "but Dani just needs a bit of guidance and encouragement." Nodding, June focused on Cody as he slid down the fire pole, landing with a playful hop before he ran over, his helmet already in place.

"Ready?" Jack asked, Arcee transforming.

"Whenever you are!" The youngest Burns family member's excitement was palpable.

Jack slipped on his own helmet and waited for Cody to join him before Arcee took off at a gentle speed, until they left the building. As soon as it was clear for her to do so, the Autobot fem sped off, much to the enjoyment of her passengers.

With a sigh, June shook her head with a smile before she looked at the Autobots she had been left behind with. "I think I'll go see what I can help you out with the meals."

Elita and Ratchet both felt stuck as they watched the nurse disappear up the stairs. Standing back up, E looked over at her friend, noticing him shifting about a bit as if he was thinking on something. She was about to say something to break the awkward silence between them when he decided he was going to scan her again. That only made her laugh. It actually saved her from saying something possibly regrettable like _"Did you miss me?"_.

_[Location: Autobot Base] Prime Universe_

Those left behind waited patiently as they could in the base. Bulkhead and Bumblebee lobbed, Rafael watching from an overhead walkway beside Bee with his laptop open at his side. Optimus was calmly working on decoding the ever present Iacon Database. The Autobot leader only stopped for a moment as he glanced over at the computer near his workstation as the proximity alert went off, notifying all in the base that Agent William Fowler was approaching.

As the elevator doors opened, the human liaison stepping through caring a couple small paper bags with him in one hand and a large cup of coffee in the other, greeting Optimus rather cordially. The Autobot returned the greeting before returning to his own work as Agent Fowler walked over to where Rafael sat. It seemed as the time that had passed between the renewed fighting with the Decepticons and in having the other humans that have become allies gave Agent Fowler a more positive excuse to visit, making his trips to the hidden missile base turned Autobot headquarters more and more frequent. Personally, Optimus Prime was rather pleased that the visits and communications were becoming less harsh from the human. Even a Prime's patients could be stretched thin by one person's foul temper.

Raf smiled up at and thanked the adult as Agent Fowler passed him one of the bags, he apparently taken over feeding the teenagers in Elita's absence. "No word from them yet?" he asked to whoever would answer.

"We haven't heard back from them yet," Raf said as he dug out the contents of his bag. "There hasn't been any more of those energy pings either."

"They went into the unknown, Agent Fowler," Optimus stated as he stepped over to the rest, Bulkhead and Bumblebee pausing their lobbing to listen to what their leader had to say. "Not only do we not know Elita-One's status, but there is no promise that they were going into a situation that bode well for her rescuers as well. It might take them time to find her if she had to leave the nearby area for her own safety."

"Don't worry," Bulkhead spoke up, smirking over as they all focused on him, "if anyone can bring our people back, it's Ratchet." Bumblebee even beeped his acknowledgement.

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine] Rescuebot Universe_

With the help from June, Elita was able to finish up the little things that she had wished to do before leaving. E even manned the call center as she wrote down things in a composition notebook for Dani. While the women worked above stairs, Ratchet was running almost constant scans on Elita's larger form while it moved, danced, and even cleaned in the garage area. Jack, Cody, and Arcee returned back to the Firehouse a couple hours after they had left, the youngest human still hyped up after the adventurous ride.

The Rescuebots returned around lunchtime, everything appearing peaceful in the small town despite the usual phone calls from Mrs. Neederlander with Mr. Peddi-Paws in a tree again or the Mayor panicking about one thing or another. Blades was the first to land, the most eager to return home due to his latest passenger. Despite the stories that Arcee had told him, he did not believe that one human could be any more of a dare-devil than Dani. The helicopter would never doubt a thing Arcee said ever again.

The Burns men and their Rescuebot partners returned shortly after the young ladies had, all ready for a relaxing meal before their afternoon duties began. But it was apparent that after the meal, which was being served down in the garage area evident by the table that was set up down there, that their guests were planning on returning home. The meal was taken slower than what they were use to due to lots of chatter from all parties involved, but none seemed to be worried about the time it took up. The Autobots spoke the most with one another knowing that after the human's finished their meal that they wouldn't have a real chance to speak afterwards.

Elita, who had joined back with her larger body after eating, was sitting near the table as she, Arcee, and Ratchet answered any further questions that the Rescuebots had for them. Chief Burns watched as Cody climbed up onto the woman's leg to sit while everyone talked, and how she put a protective hand around the boy. It was a mother's instinct he had recognized in his late-wife's mannerisms that had originally drawn him to her. Whoever it was that had her eye was one lucky man… or bot.

Even the clean-up, which took the Burn's family little time, was drug out a little longer despite the extra hands to help. It might have been just over a week, but the family of heroes was a bit reluctant to see their visitors go. It was here that those belonging to Team Prime openly bid farewell to the Rescuebots. With a quick chat about the driving arrangements, which Miko managed to speed talk Blades into another ride, the group of humans and Autobots began their slow drive to the laboratory of Doc Greene.

Earlier that morning Elita had called the good doctor to tell him how exactly her friends were able to hold open the window, and that there was somebody back home waiting for him to send the energy again. That their residential computer genius was ready to handle the rest as soon as Doctor Greene was able to operate his machine again. With only minor repairs to make this time to the machine, Doc Greene assured Elita that he would be ready for their arrival whenever lunch was over and the Burns family had the free moments to spare.

They all had arrived by mid-afternoon at the laboratory that overlooked most of the little town down below. Elita had paused to look down at the town one last time after she pulled off her helmet. Cody, who had ridden with her, gently patted her back as he tried to give her his best, strongest smile. Reaching back behind her, she gave the young man a half squeeze, thanking him.

June and Ratchet pulled up, followed closely behind by Arcee and Jack. Chase with Chief Burns was right behind them while Graham and Boulder had pulled up the rear. Kade and Heatwave had lead the little procession, their excuse was to make sure that the Doctor was home.

The garage door that opened into the workshop pulled open as the humans exited their vehicles and Blades landed, Elita laughing a bit as Miko and Dani hopped out, knowing that the helicopter was glad to be landing. Frankie ran out ahead of her father and Professor Baranova, glomping a tight hug around Elita's mid-section, which the Autobot-human returned gently.

"I have made all the preparations on our side," Doc Greene told the group in a saddened tone as they gathered close together but still near their own vehicles, which were parked as close as they possibly could get. "I'll start it up whenever you're ready to leave, Ellan."

E smiled at the good doctor, still having an arm around Frankie and another around Cody as he stood near her side. "Thank you." Gently patting Frankie's head, she smiled at the young lady when she looked up at her. One by one she walked to each member of the Burns family, giving them a farewell hug and a gentle rub to the vehicle they drove. Then turning back to Jack, Miko, June, Ratchet and Arcee, she smiled. "You ready to go home?"

"Whenever you are," June said gently.

Looking over at her motorcycle form, Elita commanded it to pull up to her before she got on. The friends that came to her rescue followed suit, climbing back into or onto their own rides. Miko hopped onto the bench seat on Elita's motorcycle, along with Frankie and Cody. Chuckling, E drove slowly into the laboratory, following Arcee and Ratchet. Pulling up next to the controls that Doc Greene was working on, she let Frankie and Cody depart, both moving over to Chief Burns and the rest of his family. Professor Baranova was standing beside Elita at this time, waiting for the Autobot woman to look back at her after E departed the bike.

"You truly are an amazing specimen for what had happened to you," the older woman told her with a blush, "I hope that the ones that wish to harm you never find you."

"Thank you Professor." Elita stretched out her hand to shake with the other woman, who returned the grip warmly.

Slowly Elita bid farewell to the rest of the human's gathered there, waving when she could at the four Rescuebots looking in the large doorway, and hopped back onto her own bike. With hers and Miko's helmets secured, Elita nodded to Doc Greene to start up his machine.

It was only a few seconds after the machine started up that the window gained its wavy texture and a half-minute before it solidified into the purplish glow with the long red and orange energy streaks rushing through it. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Elita always hated good-byes; she drove into the vortex before her, followed swiftly by Arcee with Jack, and Ratchet with June.

Shortly after they disappeared through the vortex, those remaining behind watched as it winked shut on its own. Chief Burns walked up beside Doc Greene. "Perhaps you should pack this one away for a rainy day, Doc."

"I was thinking the same thing," Doc Greene said, looking down at the controls. "Perhaps a little more work on my equations and we might have a way to visit them, or bring them through for a visit again." Then he looked back up at his friend, "But for right now, I think I'll work a bit on some gardening that needs done around the laboratory. The ivy on the lower ledges is getting a bit out of hand."

_[Location: Griffin Rock, Maine] Prime Universe_

The trio of vehicles pulled into the forest area before the vortex shut down behind them. Ratchet, since he was the commander of the mission, opened up his communication's channel to the base. "Ratchet to Optimus Prime. Mission accomplished, requesting ground bridge transportation."

The usual sea green spiral of lights opened before them and they all entered it. It winked shut among the quiet trees, a cool sea breeze drifting through the limbs as if whispering their own good-byes.

**Author's Note: I do not own either show!**

Yikes! Long chapter, but I didn't feel a good place to break this up. Should have this wrapped up on one more chapter. Thanks for hanging in there with me.


	11. Chapter 11

_[Location: Autobot base]_

The wayward travelers were greeted by the rest of their colleagues, but Optimus Prime stood just on the other side of the ground bridge. While June and Jack exited their Autobots so Ratchet and Arcee could transform. Elita simply transformed where she was, falling into herself as her bot body up-righted, Miko resting on her shoulder after a squeal of excitement.

"It is good to have all six of you back home," Optimus said with a smile.

"It's good to be back," Elita replied, "thanks to the hard work on both sides." That gained a surprised, bashful smile from Rafael, and a small smile from Ratchet.

But the medic had other things in mind at the moment. Focusing back on Optimus, the older Autobot gave a slight sigh. "Optimus, we discovered something I believe is important." All eyes and ears instantly focused on the red and white bot.

"What is it, Ratchet?" Optimus asked.

"During my scans on Elita while she was recovering we discovered that," he paused as he looked back at the fem, "her human body can create energon."

"Really?!" Miko said from her shoulder, "that's a good thing, right?"

"It's a dangerous thing if the 'Cons find out," Arcee said quietly.

"Or M.E.C.H.," Agent Fowler added.

Optimus looked at Elita, watching the way she shifted. She knew what he was going to say, but he still said it. "I recommend that you stay in the base for the time being, Elita, for your own safety."

Nodding, the Autobot-human hybrid replied, "Yes, sir."

Everyone settled in for the report Elita gave them about her trip up to the point where the others had joined her. At that time Ratchet took over, filling Optimus in on what his scans had discovered. It seemed that when Prime had chosen Jack to guard the Key to Vector Sigma, that the mystic system had scanned the young man, finding many good qualities about the human body that could be beneficial. Later, when the Autobot leader attempted to purge the virus out of Elita's archaic systems that he had left some energy tags from the Matrix in her system that Vector Sigma detected.

Using the human DNA in the blood that was hidden deep in the robotic body the woman had become trapped in; Vector Sigma blended the aspects of both races into a balanced system. By doing so, it had to make sure that Elita had to have a way to intake nourishment and be able to convert it into energon that both systems would need.

But thinking on all of that made Ratchet privately wonder exactly what all of the aspects of the human body that Vector Sigma deemed worthy of keeping in her. As they all ventured away from the main room, the medic looked on as Elita, with Miko on her shoulder, headed down the hall, no doubt to check on her garden. He'd have to run even more detailed scans on her, which was not going to make her happy. Looking over at June as she was speaking with Jack and Arcee, he made his way over. "Nurse Darby."

The raven haired woman looked up at the Autobot, "Yes, Doctor?"

"Might I have a moment of your time?" He asked. When she nodded, Ratchet lowered his hand and waited for June to step onto it and hold onto his thumb before he lifted her up and walked over to his little section of the main room.

"What is it, Ratchet?" June asked, seeing that he was having trouble with his thoughts. His glowing blue eyes focused on her as he frowned a bit.

"I believe its past time that I start learning about the human body," he stated bluntly. "If something were to happen to the children again…" he trailed off, his eyes looking around at his equipment.

"It's not just the children," June asked quietly, "is it?"

"I fear I am at a disadvantage in helping Elita out to the best of my abilities, yes."

"Tell you what," June said, smiling gently up at the mech, "I have my old text books from medical school I can give you, though I'm not sure how much that will help. I can also take a look-see what computer programs I can find about the subject."

Nodding, she could see the relief in his eyes, "That would be most appreciated, Nurse Darby. I fear that the children have annoyed me a bit on the subject by telling me to 'Brain pick it'; whatever that means."

June had to fight giggling, so she coughed into her other hand. "Brainpick is an internet search site that is quite popular, but I strongly recommend that you don't go looking up this sort of topic there."

"Ah, noted and thank you." Turning back to walk into the main part of the room, Ratchet thanked her again before returning June to her son's side.

Elsewhere in the base…

Miko was idly looking over the plants as Elita, in her smaller form, was tending to her garden. Her larger body was currently in its vehicle mode, resting nearby. The black and pink haired girl sighed and moved a strand of hair out of her face. "So… you gonna talk?"

"About what?" E said as she gently pulled a dying leaf from a tomato plant and put it in a bucket that hung on her arm.

"Ya know… about how Ratch came in and saved the day for ya." When Elita didn't answer her, Miko pressed on. "He didn't really rest, ya know? Driving us all up the walls by being even crankier than usual."

"I'm sorry to have done that to you all," was the quiet reply.

The teenagers' head and shoulders dropped a bit to the side as she looked at the woman, who obviously was missing the point. Well, no better way than being direct. "I think he's in love with you." Elita didn't even stop, nor glance at Miko, at this revelation. "Aren't you going to say something? I mean… this is huge!" Her arms flew up and out in emphasis.

"Miko, please understand something," E said quietly as she gently pulled a couple of ripe yellow squash from their vines, "I have a lot to figure out on my own without dragging Ratchet into a relationship I don't know if I'm ready to handle or not."

"Why not?" The red head looked over at Miko, who now had her hands on her hips and that darned determine expression to her face when she was being bull-headed on getting what she wanted.

"This is what I'm going to give you to think on," Elita said calmly, but there was a firm tone to her voice that meant she would broker no argument. "The last guy I dated, the only guy I dated, was for years. He pinned me under his thumb so tightly that I didn't realize it until I told him to hit the road. And come to find out that our relationship was only because he was ordered to do it and he had been my handler the whole time and beyond that.

"My world is upside down still and I'm still trying to figure out how my bodies work now. There's a lot more that I have to think on and consider before I jump head first into anything like that. I need time."

Miko's look softened, even looking heartbroken for the woman. "Ratch isn't going to hurt you," she said gently, "He's a great guy."

"I know he is," Elita agreed, "but I can't put what I need to in a relationship right now and expect it to survive. I respect him enough to do that for him."

Understanding her words, Miko nodded and they both turned back to the plants.

FIN

**Author's Notes: I don't own the shows. Thankies! And Brainpick search doesn't exist.**

Yes, short chapter. Especially after that last long one. Thanks for sticking with me though this crazy ride. Thanks for all the favorites and reviews.

Thanks to EmoPirateLuv for writing Intertwined, which helped me overcome my fear of mixing the two shows.

Thanks to my husband TexMECHs for proofing and supporting my silly habit. And thanks to our daughter for letting Mommy write for you.


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